The present invention relates generally to plant husbandry and, more particularly, to techniques for enhancing the moisture content of trees and plants.
The importance of an adequate water supply for growing and sustaining vascular trees and plants has been long recognized. In numerous cases, improved irrigation methods and soil amendments have proven to have some value in plant husbandry. A need still exists, however, for methods and compositions that are inexpensive to produce and simple to apply that would aid in production of vigorous tree and plant growth. This is especially true of the lumber industry where techniques for increasing growth rates of healthy trees would have substantial economic value. It is true also in agriculture, where improved plant growth rates would be beneficial.
Desirably, such methods and compositions would enable a tree, for example, to take in and retain increased amounts of water.
In many cases, there is a need to preserve trees and plants for a time after they have been cut. As a rule, the tree or plant begins to die after cutting. This is especially true, for example, of Christmas trees that are enjoyed seasonally by millions of people.
In spite of its beauty and association with a traditionally joyous time of year, the Christmas tree often poses a danger because of its propensity to ignite and burn rapidly and vigorously. This propensity increases the older the tree gets after cutting, as the tree loses moisture that is not replaced. One can readily appreciate the danger presented by a dry tree garlanded with hot electrical bulbs and electrical wires capable of igniting the tree as a result of shorting. Since the tree is often displayed in homes and buildings that are heated and generally low in humidity, the fire danger increases over time, as long as the tree is kept.
It has been estimated that each year, in this country alone, hundreds of people are injured or killed in Christmas tree fires and tens of millions of dollars of property damage occur.
Some prior art techniques have been attempted in an effort to reduce the danger of fire. In many cases, the lower portion of the trunk is placed in a tree stand that includes a dish for water. This accomplishes little, in typical conventional systems, to prevent drying of the tree since no mechanism exists for moving the water systemically throughout the vascular system of the tree. As a result, over a relatively short span of time, the tree becomes drier while the risk of combustion increases.
From the foregoing it will be apparent that there is a need for a composition and method that enhance the moisture content of trees and plants thereby to foster growth. In addition, it is desirable that such a composition and method impart a substantial degree of fire resistance to growing trees and to cut trees.
The present invention provides a technique for increasing the capability of growing and cut trees and plants for taking up, and retaining water. In practice, the present invention improves growth rates in trees and plants and renders treated trees substantially fire proof.
In this regard, the present invention comprises a composition and method for enhancing the moisture content of growing and cut trees and plants, including the steps of providing a polyacrylimide polymer in crystalline form, mixing salt with the polymer wherein the salt comprises about 5% by weight relative to the polymer, treating the mixture in a reaction tube for about 60 seconds, and applying the mixture to the tree or plant to enhance the ability thereof to absorb and retain moisture.
The present invention affords several distinct advantages. Firstly, it provides an inexpensive and easily implemented technique for treating growing trees and plants to enhance the ability of the treated tree or plant to take on and retain moisture. The result is a more robust and healthier tree or plant having a substantially increased growth rate. When the technique is utilized for cut trees, such as a Christmas tree, the result is a tree that remains fresh and green for long periods of time and that is fire resistant. In practice, it gas been discovered that the level of fire resistance is so substantial that the tree will not ignite even when an acetylene torch is applied to it.